The biggest and best Jazz Festival is returning to Derry from 3rd – 7th May 2018.  The City of Derry Jazz and Big Band Festival will be back for its 17th year, featuring artists from all over the world and attracting over 60,000 revellers over the bank holiday weekend.

This year’s headliner is Sir Van Morrison, who will perform in the Millennium Forum on Sunday 6th and Monday 7th May.  The multi award winning singer, composer and performer will be showcasing songs from his most recent studio albums Roll with the Punches and Versatile - as well as dipping into some of his greatest and best known hits from undoubtedly one of the most revered back catalogues in music history.

Read more: City of Derry Jazz and Big Band Festival 2018

Paris based, Irish vocalist and songwriter, Liv Monaghan, has just released a music film for her song, Ocean Blues, from the EP, Beauty in the Park.

The film is a collaboration with up and coming Italian director, Sara Grimaldi. Following on from Horses, this marks their second music film collaboration.

The song, Ocean Blues, takes us on a surreal journey through both urban and natural landscapes, presenting us with a series of juxtaposed snapshots fused with a retro feel, both lyrically and musically.

Read more: Ocean Blues Music Video - Official Release

Some great news. The Hot Box is now available on iTunes. If you are an iTunes user which I`m sure many of you are, you can subscribe and listen to the show while driving to work, on a bus journey or even relaxing on your sofa.

For those that don’t use iTunes don’t worry we got you covered. New episodes will always be available on the site and we will still upload to Mixcloud.

Here is a list of all the ways you can listen:

Read more: The Hot Box Podcast is Now Available on iTunes

The 7 Virtual Jazz Club continues its worldwide search for new and underexposed jazz talent from the four corners of the world with the second edition of their online competition. There is an impressive list of judges this year and a grand prize of € 4,000 will be awarded to the winner. The second edition of 7 Virtual Jazz Club Competition is dedicated to the memory of Ella Fitzgerald. Entries accepted from September 15th, 2017 to November 5th, 2017

Read more: 7 Virtual Jazz Club's Global Online Jazz Contest 2017 Edition - Total ‎€ 7,000 in Prizes

The CEO Experiment has released a new animation for one of their tracks “SunBeam”, one of my personal favourites. Check it out below.

The CEO Experiment is one of a kind Piano Trio which combines delicate atmospherics and highly creative improvisations, oscillating between almost every genre in Jazz. The CEO Experiment's music is thoughtful and inventive but also full of character, reflecting the different background and imagination of the players.

We're very happy to celebrate the longest day of the year by bringing you the animation video of our single "SunBeam", a song dedicated to the sun. What better day to give our appreciation and thanks to the universe and the sun than today!

A huge thank you to the creator of the animation video Anthony Sands who spent days and nights perfecting this absolutely beautiful video, thanks for everything Anthony, you are magical, beautiful and extremely talented human being!

Now....PRESS PLAY AND ENJOY!

Read more: CEO Experiment "SunBeam" Animation Video

Irish vocalist and composer, Edel Meade to release ‘Sideways’, the first single from her long awaited debut album on Friday 26th May.

Following on from the video release of ‘Blue Fantasia’, an enthralling experimental piece earlier this year, ‘Sideways’ takes the listener on an enchanting journey through the small hours, exploring the mystique of romance and freedom of spirit. The music is gorgeous, evocative and soothing with it’s luscious textures, rich vocal harmonies and lyrics that are unapologetically intimate.

Read more: Debut single release: Edel Meade – Sideways

Nigel Mooney (guitar, vocals) was the very first jazz and blues musician to play in JJ Smyth’s, back in 1986. The upstairs venue in Aungier Street went on to become the nearest thing we had to a jazz club in Dublin. Sadly, all this has come to an end with the owners’ decision to sell the pub. After several ‘farewell gigs’ over the last few months, the absolutely final finale took place on Sunday 23 April. Nigel Mooney, who played the first gig 31 years ago, also played the last. He was backed by Johnny Taylor (piano), Barry Donoghue (bass) and Dominic Mullan (drums), with Richie Buckley (tenor sax) as a special guest. The place was packed.

Read more: Farewell To JJ’s